


A Bullet Through The Heart

by Alex (Will_the_Wise)



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Anxiety, Betrayal, Character Death, F/M, Fear, Fear of Death, Grief/Mourning, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 10:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17364191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Will_the_Wise/pseuds/Alex
Summary: She loved hanging out with him, and she loved him as a person!That was until she discovered his true motives, and then lost everything...





	A Bullet Through The Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Protagonist is named Alex  
> ArFa-Sys is named Phoenix
> 
> Hope you enjoy! I loved playing through this game ^_^

“Itsuki!” Alex shouted through the gunfire with seriousness and determination. “Cover me!”

He nodded quickly, a beautiful smile forming across his face. Raising his rifle, Itsuki began firing rapidly at each enemy player, gradually drawing their attention and scattering them. Alex dove out from behind a small barrier, instantly readying her sniper rifle. She hurriedly peered through the scope and saw one of the players with a shotgun, aiming directly at her.  
Alex gasped when the she heard the gunshot. Her heart raced as she urgently lowered her rifle, but it was too late. The bullet hit her right in the chest, the force knocking her over onto her back. Footsteps ran towards her from two sides; infront and behind. Infront must've been the shotgun user, but who was...?  
As if reading her thoughts, Phoenix jumped forward wielding their photon sword. Taken by surprise, the opponent stepped back and tripped over. Phoenix took this chance, so they ran over and plunged the blue sword into the enemy's chest, draining the remains of his HP. They then turned and ran back over to Alex with a First Aid Kit in hand.

“Master! Are you OK? Are you hurt? I'm so sorry I let this happen! Hold still, you'll be fine.” Phoenix panicked.

Alex climbed to her feet after the first aid had been used with an amused smile spreading across her face.

“As always Phoenix, you worry too much! It was just a single gunshot, I'm fine. Thanks for the save.” Alex winked, then grabbed her weapon and rushed towards Itsuki who was tactically rolling between several barriers, waiting for the perfect opening to fire a bullet. Phoenix sighed with relief and followed behind.

 

After another 5 minutes, Alex, Phoenix and Itsuki managed to successfully defeat the opposing team.

“Life in GGO always is more exciting with you around, Alex.” Itsuki panted. “I haven't had a PvP match that thrilling in a while.”

“I'm glad I can make things more interesting for you, but I don't think I had anything to do with this one.” Alex laughed. “But I hope I can keep making you happy.”

“Don't worry, you make me the happiest.” Itsuki stated.

Alex stared at him uncertainly for a moment.

“Just kidding.” Itsuki shrugged and laughed. “You're way too gullible, that could get you badly hurt one day. You should be more careful, less trusting.”

“Well I can trust you, can't I? So no need to worry about me.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

“Master!” Phoenix interrupted. “You've received a message from Kureha.”

Alex cheerfully opened her menu and started to read the message.  
Itsuki watched as her smile widened, and her eyes flared with excitement. Something sparked within him, a jealousy.... a _need_.

“So, do you want to continue towards the dungeon? I heard there's supposed to be some rare loot there, and I doubt it'll be any trouble at our levels.” Itsuki asked, desperate to draw her attention away from her childhood friend. Alex and Kureha were far too close, almost inseparable, and he hated it.  
He wanted to share that kind of closeness with her, nobody else, just him...

Eventually, Alex moved her eyes away from the message and up to meet Itsuki's.

“Sorry, but Kureha has finally triggered the next objective in the quest line we're doing together! She's really excited about it, so she asked if I could join her on it now. I'm really sorry, but could we arrange for another time?”

Itsuki closed his eyes.  
Alex's heart stopped for a moment with worry; had she upset him?

“And here I thought you'd cleared the afternoon for me.” he shrugged, somewhere between sad and disappointed.

Her blood ran cold. “I had, I'm sorry, this was unexp-”  
He stepped forward and raised his finger to her lips. “I'm just messing with you, don't apologise.” he smiled and opened his eyes to meet hers. “You two go have fun now, I'll be ready for you when you're finished.”

“I'll message you when I'm free!” Alex replied joyfully, relieved she hadn't hurt his feelings, or at least not too much.

Itsuki glanced at Phoenix; they were totally oblivious to their conversation, focused on the blindingly colourful sunset taking place behind them.

Itsuki leaned in closer and whispered seductively into her ear. “Maybe just us two next time? I'm sure we can manage without your ArFa-Sys for a while at least... I want us to spend some time together.”

Alex shuddered at the soothing sound of his voice, his warm breath against her ear, the smallest gap between the two of them...  
She thoughtlessly wrapped her arms around his waist. “I'll think about it...” Alex muttered.

Suddenly, Itsuki was surrounded by a blue light, then disappeared into shattered fragments, leaving Alex holding nothingness.  
He must've returned to the SBC Glocken, or logged out for now. Alex raised a hand to her heart. It was beating so fast!

“Master, are you feeling alright? Your heart rate has spiked considerably, are you ill? And where did Itsuki go?” Phoenix questioned, quickly walking over.

“N-no Phoenix, I'm fine, thanks. Itsuki has logged out for now.” Alex struggled, but attempted to calm her heartbeat and breathing. Phoenix might figure something out at this rate... “How would you like to join Kureha and I on a quest?”  
Phoenix clapped with joy.

“I'd love nothing more, Master!”

 

Alex shot one of them down, and Kureha the other. Phoenix was still enduring a fierce sword fight with a blade-wielding enemy.

“Cover Phoenix, I'll shoot it.” Alex stated, aiming her rifle.

Kureha nodded and ran to their aid.

Phoenix was barely managing to block each swing of the enemy's photon blade until finally, it parried their sword to the floor and swatted them like a fly, sending them colliding with a wall.  
Kureha gasped and immediately charged forward. She fired her gun at the enemy as she ran towards Phoenix, however her bullets made nothing more than a dent in its armoured shoulder. It jumped forward and slammed down with its blade. Kureha rolled out of the way, but the opponent was already mid-attack when she turned to face it.  
It swung its blade, striking her in the chest and sending her flying across the room.

Alex panicked and fired the bullet too early; it zoomed towards the enemy and bounced off of the shoulder plating, doing nothing but draw its attention. The original target was the head, but seeing it stare mercilessly at the downed bodies of Phoenix and Kureha caused her to fire instantly.  
The opponent immediately turned to face her and began sprinting. Alex felt her breathing heighten as panic continued to ring like bells inside her. She continuously fired, each time trying her best to hit the head but instead missing nearly every shot. Two bullets bounced off its legs and another off its arm. Alex pulled the trigger again, but nothing happened – she was out of ammo.  
Alex screamed as she felt the photon sword slice into her side, flinging her a reasonable distance. She quickly recovered and climbed to her feet, then switched to a simple handgun.  
But there was nothing simple about it, at least not to Alex. It was... special.

She steadied her aim and heart rate, then after a few seconds, fired the first shot.  
It whistled through the air until it pierced the top of the enemy's head, causing it to reel slightly.  
The first shot was soon followed by many more. Some missed, however the others continued to dig into various areas of the enemy's skull.  
It readied its sword at its side. After helping Phoenix train with her sword, Alex recognised this skill without a doubt.  
Vorpal Strike.  
Her enemy zoomed forward towards her, tip of the blade aimed directly at her head. She swiftly scanned the room and spotted a light dangling down from the ceiling. She urgently aimed her UFG and fired, ascending up and out of harm's way.  
The enemy crashed into the wall and appeared stunned.  
While it may not last long, it was the only opening Alex needed.

She kicked her feet forwards in the air, swinging herself around then letting go of the light. She fell, feet first, into the enemy's back and knocked it back onto the floor as it attempted to recover. Alex jumped back to a safe distance and aimed her handgun again. She fired one, two, three bullets that all collided with the head in a critical hit. The enemy's HP was incredibly low, but still not fully depleted. Once again, it rocketed towards her with another Vorpal Strike.  
 _One precise shot..._ Alex thought to herself. She took a deep breath, aimed, then fired one final time.  
The bullet hit the centre of the enemy's face, piercing straight through and into the wall behind. All the opponent's thrust instantly subsided, and instead it clattered to the floor infront of her then disappeared.

“Kureha, Phoenix! Are you both OK?” Alex asked worriedly as she sprinted over to them.

Kureha slowly pushed herself off the ground and back onto her feet. “Wow, that really hurt...” she shook her head. “Good job with that enemy! Are you OK?”

Alex crouched down beside Phoenix and quickly administered a First Aid Kit. She exhaled a deep sigh of relief.  
“Yeah, I'm fine. That thing was really tough.”

As Phoenix's HP began to gradually restore, they also rose to their feet with a solemn expression. They looked down at the ground anxiously.  
“I'm so sorry Master, Kureha. I tried my hardest, but I failed...”

Alex gave Phoenix a loving pat on the head. “You did great! Nothing to apologise for. You managed to hold that thing off while we cleared the area! That was a huge help, so thank you.”

Kureha's eyes were curiously drawn to the handgun in Alex's hand. “Hey Alex, that's a new gun isn't it?”

Alex raised her hand that held the gun, gently as if it were fragile.

“It's strange, ever since you got your first sniper rifle, I've never seen you use a different type of gun.” Kureha laughed. “Where'd you get it from? Is it a rare drop?”

“Uhh I guess you could say that...” Alex replied, staring at the gun and reminiscing about when Itsuki kindly gifted it to her after an entire day spent hanging out together. It'd been his first gun of GGO, and he chose to give it to _Alex_ of all people...

“Well? Are you going to tell me where it came from or not?”

Alex bit her lip.  
“It's nothing special.” she giggled nervously.

“Uhh OK... Anyway, that enemy should've been the last one.” Kureha stated. “Want to pay a visit to the NPC and continue with the next quest?”

“Sorry, but I told Itsuki I'd go explore a dungeon with him after I finished with this quest.”

“Itsuki, huh?” Kureha sighed. “I'm happy that you're making loads of new friends, just don't forget about me, OK?” she forced a laugh. “I think I might log out now. Have fun with Itsuki.”

“Kureha wait, I-” but she was already shrouded by blue light and disappeared within seconds.

 

 

Finally, after so much hard work to get here, they were exploring the SBC Flügel.

After clearing the massive room of an enemy swarm, Alex tiredly walked up a metal staircase to see Itsuki standing alone before what appeared to be a deactivated teleporter. She smiled and skipped over.

“Hey! What're you looking at?”

He turned away from the machine to face her. “Oh, Alex. I was just studying this teleporter. Maybe it'll lead us to where we need to go.”

“Maybe. There's a high chance it could be a trap though, so we should definitely go in together when well prepared.”

Itsuki turned back to the machine and looked down at the control panel beside it. After clicking some buttons, the device activated, and familiar blue rings surrounded the machine.  
“Well, you first.” he said calmly.

She was confused. “Me first? Wouldn't it be better if we all went in together?”

“I do see your point, but you should go before me in case a trap triggers here. I'll be in right behind you.” Itsuki smiled.

There was nothing different about his smile looked, but something made Alex feel... worried.  
“I don't think this is-” her sentence was cut off as Itsuki suddenly pushed her into the teleporter.

“Wha-Itsuki?” she gasped. “What are you doi-” and once again, she was silenced as she was transported elsewhere.

He sighed. “You sure can be thick sometimes. Do you seriously trust everything that's said to you at face value?”

Alex materialised in a large room with no doors. No escape. The teleporter deactivated behind her as a colossal robot took a heavy step forward towards her. Her eyes widened at its 3 long health bars.  
She was alone.  
With a shaky breath, Alex raised her sniper rifle and prepared herself.

 

After several long, exhausting minutes, the mech finally plummeted to the ground and shattered into fragments. Alex heard a sound behind her, confirming the teleporter had reactivated, so she dragged herself over to it.

“What the hell was that?!” Alex questioned furiously as she stepped through the blue rings.

Itsuki was leant against the wall by the teleporter, staring down at his gun with a look of boredom. He instantly gazed up at the loud intrusion.

“Alex, you're back! Was it a trap?”

She glared at him, but more out of sadness than anger. “Why didn't you follow me through? I nearly died!”

“I'm sorry, there was a huge trap triggered here, lots of tough enemies.” he spoke sincerely.

Part of her believed him. “I'm glad you're OK. But why did you push me in there?”

“You're correct in assuming I didn't just do it to test for a trap.” Itsuki shrugged. “You're way too trusting. If you had your guard up, surely I shouldn't have been able to push you in there.”

“Why would I need my guard up around you? I trust you. I understand that I need to have my guard up when out on the field on my own or in a fight, but I don't need to with you.”

“Take it as payback for Rock, Paper, Scissors earlier; you knew I'd never be able to enter the ship with you based on that amount of luck.” he laughed. “I'm sorry, I do feel guilty. How about I treat you to something nice when we get back?”

Alex shrugged. “That would be nice.”  
She still felt betrayed, but at least he apologised...  
“Let's catch up with the others.” she continued. “I'm sure everyone is worried about us.”

 

They'd run through the ship, but eventually reached a dead end. Kirito and the others were asking others around the SBC Glocken if anyone had any ideas how to proceed.  
But Alex, for the moment, was busy.  
Itsuki had promised to treat her to something nice as a way of apologising, so she had taken him up on that offer as soon as they got a moment alone.

Alex had arrived back in her bedroom with two drinks when she realised he was... _in her bed_.  
She hurriedly placed the drink tray onto a nearby table and walked over.

“Oh, I hope you don't mind, I just feel exhausted after all that exploration, so I was just laying here to catch a break.” he spoke cutely, innocently, half covered by a blanket draped over his knees.

Alex blushed a little then collapsed beside him onto the bed. Her heart started racing again, and she was curious if his was too...  
The bed was so small, Alex was surprised they could both comfortably fit on with space between them, even if that space was about a finger's length.

“What's wrong? You don't mind me laying here that much, do you?” he smiled.

“N-No, just... tired I guess.”

Without warning, Itsuki reached forward and softly placed his hand on her cheek. He laughed quietly.  
“You're blushing”

“Ugh, I hate how you can't hide emotions in VR” she groaned, shyly diverting her gaze away from his.

Itsuki clearly found this amusing. He started gently caressing her cheek with his thumb.  
Suddenly she got the urge to kiss him, so without thought, she did.  
Itsuki didn't appear at all surprised, or upset. He wasn't exactly kissing back, but he never pulled away either.  
Alex finally pulled away after a few moments and nervously met his gaze.  
His eyes were sparkling, and he was blushing...

“I guess you really can't hide how you feel in VR.” he laughed joyfully. “Mind if I stay here a bit longer? I'm still quite tired.”

“Me too...” Alex yawned.

 

 

“Alex, promise me you'll be careful? You're really well known in GGO, you're likely a possible target.” Kureha stated.

A murderer named Death Gun had made an appearance in GGO, targeting well known and skilled players who end up dead in the real world...

Kirito was conversing with everyone else at the opposite end of the room to where Alex, Kureha and Phoenix were seated.

“But what about you?” Phoenix asked Kureha worriedly. “Won't that mean he'd target you too?”

“Oh, I'm counting on it. If he attacks you or me, I'll kill him.”

“I really don't think that's a good idea.” a voice replied from the door.  
Zeliska strolled over and seated herself beside them.  
“There's no way a bullet in GGO can kill someone irl, it just can't be possible. The AmuSphere isn't a NerveGear.”

“But then how did those players die?” Phoenix queried.

“I'm not sure, but I don't think their deaths are directly related. They can't be. Could just be coincidence.” Zeliska reassured them.

Alex finally snapped back to her senses. “Zeliska, have you seen Itsuki anywhere?”

“Hm? Oh, I think I saw him outside.” she smiled.

Alex rose to her feet. “Thank you. I'll meet with all of you again in a moment.”  
And with that, she ran outside.

 

After a few minutes of searching the streets, Alex eventually spotted Itsuki stood alone by the railings.

“Itsuki!” she called out, drawing his attention as she rushed over to him. “You need to be careful, you'll definitely be a target for Death Gun.”

“Oh, don't worry about me. What about you? You'll have to keep your guard up, you never know when he might try to attack you.”

“I know, I just don't want anything to happen to you either. So just please be careful, and don't take any unnecessary risks?”

Itsuki winked teasingly. “No promises on that last part, but I'll be sure to be careful.”

Alex took another step forward and fell against him. He seemed surprised for a second, but soon wrapped his arms around her lovingly.

“I'm worried about Kureha...” Alex whispered sadly. “She seems intent on defeating Death Gun herself.”

“She'll be fine, we'll all be fine. Just remember to keep your guard up, and don't be too trusting. Death Gun could be anyone.”

 

 

Alex stood, scared and uncertain, in this dark unknown place. Phoenix appeared just as confused and freaked out.  
Kureha, Zeliska and Itsuki all seemed to be more confident, but Alex knew deep down they were all just as scared as she was, even if the could hide it.  
Death Gun had forced them all to wear NerveGears, which immediately spawned them here in this strange place.

But if they were NerveGears, then this wasn't just a fun game anymore...

Suddenly a huge, black and purple gateway opened up in the centre, drawing everyone's attention. An equally as huge boss floated out of it.  
Its name and health bars appeared for each of them, causing their blood to freeze up.

Kureha gasped fearfully. “It has so much health!”

The boss finally noticed them, so turned to glare with its large, burning red eyes.

“The GM? What a peculiar name for a boss...” Zeliska thought to herself.

Before anyone could even aim their guns, the boss fabricated a circular dark purple orb and fired it instantaneously at Alex.  
A dark mist engulfed her as the force knocked her back onto the floor. She glanced up at her health bar, and she felt tears sting her eyes.  
Her HP was already in the red....

Alex urgently aimed her UFG at the floor a distance away and zoomed out of the choking mist. She was unable to see any of her friends, but she noticed the boss was already discharging a second orb aimed at her. Alex dropped her sniper rifle, frozen with fear. No sound would escape from her strangled throat, no cry for help, no shouts to flee, no scream as Alex watched her oncoming demise seconds away from hitting her...

Out the corner of her eye she saw a flick of pink hair, immediately followed by a figure in a fully pink outfit leaping infront of her.  
“N-No...” was all Alex could muster as she watched her greatest friend take a fatal hit right before her eyes, in a successful attempt to rescue her.

Alex stared in horror at Kureha's HP, depleting endlessly until nothing was left and the bar was empty...

“K-Kureha!” Alex cried out desperately, tears streaming down her face.

Kureha slowly turned around to face her. Her eyes were sparkling, but she gave a small smile.

“See? You wouldn't get anywhere without me...” she spoke, voice cracking at the end.

Particles of light surrounded her. Kureha reached out her hand as her body started to fade into the light. Alex reached her hand out to touch hers, but just as their fingers touched, Kureha shattered into digital shards.  
Alex couldn't believe it. She was really gone...

As the dark mist cleared, Zeliska was revealed to Alex's blurry eyes, her mouth open with shock and despair.  
Itsuki calmly strolled into the centre of the battlefield from behind her.

“Itsuki stop!” Alex shouted, shaking with fear and grief from head to toe.

But the boss didn't even move its bloodthirsty eyes to follow him. He stopped infront of the monster and sighed.

“I never specifically planned on anyone dying here.” Itsuki shrugged. “But I guess that's why I distributed NerveGears to each of us, just in case.”

Alex felt searing agony all over, as if she'd had a thousand long needles viciously stabbed through every inch of her body. Her heart physically hurt...

“So you're the one who stole the NerveGears?” Zeliska asked, and Alex had never heard her sound so serious.

Although her seriousness made complete sense, as they were all one headshot away from being murdered.

“Taipan and I, you can talk to him more about it. So, I guess I'm the villain here. I was beginning to get bored again, so I decided to show Alex how special the bond we share is, how I'm the only person she can rely on.”

“You did all of this?!” she cried out, still staring at the space her closest friend once stood. “You killed Kureha?!”

“I didn't plan on it, I never thought her or Zeliska would actually show up.” he shrugged again.

Alex had completely forgotten about her rifle still dropped on the ground at her feet, so she pulled out her handgun and aimed it at his head.  
 _His_ handgun...

She expected Zeliska or Phoenix to step in and stop her, but nobody moved or even spoke.  
Alex wanted to avenge Kureha, but part of her, after everything, still told her to lower the gun...

“I don't blame you for not forgiving me. Go ahead, shoot me, stir my heart some more.”

Alex put her shaking finger to the trigger.

Suddenly, the boss disappeared behind him and the area around them began to flash an alarming red.  
Itsuki looked around, confused.

“Damn it! Betrayed by a program...”

Zeliska and Phoenix silently vanished into a blue light.

“They must've been teleported out...” Itsuki tossed his sniper rifle onto the floor. “Well, this is pointless if there's nobody to kill.”

Alex lowered her gun hesitantly.

“I guess we finally get our desired alone time together, although it won't last long.”

Alex was still speechless...  
She felt torn; she hated Itsuki for doing all this, _murdering_ her best friend...  
But part of her just wanted him to return to normal, so she could snuggle into his warmth again...

“We'll see eachother again one day, either in the virtual world or the real, but we'll meet again someday...”

A blinding light flooded her field of vision, and she felt the ground beneath her feet disappear...

**Author's Note:**

> Itsuki was my favourite character, i loved him very soon after he was introduced tbh.  
> I'd always have him in my party when the option was available, so this betrayal really struck me when i played the game...
> 
> I loved it though!! I also love Itsuki's character, i just find him really interesting


End file.
